Hinge

Abstract

Hinge (1) for a door which covers at least in part a compartment, of the type comprising a fixed support (2) coupled to the compartment frame, and a mobile support (3) coupled to the door, wherein such mobile and fixed supports are at least rotatably constrained one to the other. The hinge also comprises means to impose a predefined law of motion to the mobile support with respect to the fixed support during opening and / or closing of the door and controlled motor means (5) for aiding opening and / or closing of the door applying a push and / or a pull force onto said mobile support with respect to the fixed one.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to the field of hinges, particularly to a hinge for a door which covers a compartment, for example the loading compartment of a household appliance, of the type comprising motor means for aiding opening and / or closing of the door, for example operated by an electric motor.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Hinges are known in the art, which comprise a motor drive, typically electric, acting to open / close the door.[0003]For example, GB2350863 teaches to realize an oven provided with an electric-motor drive to open and close the cooking cavity. Such an oven provides the user with a manual control which, when operated, activates an electric motor for opening or closing the afore said doors. The electric motor, which acts directly as a door hinge, is sized to apply a force sufficient to fully open and close the doors, even when they are hinged along a horizontal axis.[0004]In the known art such motor drives, for example constituted by electric ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a hinge that can be controlled by a programmable controller and uses electrically or magnetically operated actuators. This hinge can be used even in cases of power failure or malfunction of the motor means. The hinge applies an axial force that prevents the hinge from being stressed. Additionally, a manual control operable by a user is provided. The hinge can also be provided with means for decoupling by friction the guide bar from the aiding means. These features make the hinge more robust, versatile, and efficient.

Problems solved by technology

In the known art such motor drives, for example constituted by electric motors coupled with a gearmotor or another kinematic chain connecting them to the fixed and mobile supports of a hinge, are therefore sized for moving the door completely and independently, and thus they are motor drives very expensive and bulky, also involving large power consumption.

Moreover, it is not possible to associate these solutions known in the art to pre-existing hinges, because the electric motor substantially replaces the conventional hinge.

Finally, in case of malfunctions of the motor or a power failure, such a solution makes it difficult to open the door, since the absence of a traditional hinge does not allow an easy opening and closing of the door, that are provided for example by means of a spring or other known means adapted to impose a predefined law of motion to the door itself, which are usually present in conventional hinges.

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